Revisit The Past
I’ve previously written about the value of making notes after your shows – detail your show files, the venue, systems and anything else that seems noteworthy. When you have a bit more time on your hands, these can be invaluable learning tools for professional growth, especially if you have the option of pairing it with multitracks of specific shows.
Maybe there was a difficult show that had you on the edge of your seat the entire time – use this time to go back and revisit the show with a clearer vision. Sometimes this can lead to discovery of shortcuts and/or maybe finding more optimal solutions for your show file structure. This is especially useful if you might be working with the same act or at the same venue again – improved starting options for future gigs can mean less prep time at the event itself and yield better results.
If you have access to a console that you can use to work with multitrack recordings, revisit the show and see how your changes would affect the sound, or check that show file changes don’t actually create further issues. The shows that we struggle with the most could actually be the ones that provide the most information that can be very helpful and informative for future work.
Active Rest
Last but certainly not least, we must take care of ourselves. When we finish a difficult tour or a very stressful season, our bodies and minds are tired. We have to take time to recharge and to clear our minds, which will then provide us with more focus on future work.
Maybe it seems like such a generic comment that we tend to discard it, but the losses of numerous folks we’ve witnessed over the last year or so in the pro audio community is a clear sign that we should take better care of our bodies and mental health. After all, our work is stressful and filled with adrenaline. Combine that with long hours, bad eating habits and irregular sleep patterns and it’s a very taxing routine indeed.
So when you have time to actually wind down, absolutely do just that. You might feel like this doesn’t fit with the theme of this particular article, but I’ve found it’s one of the most important components of staying in proper mixing shape. Mixing is, after all, an activity that demands constant high levels of concentration that can only be achieved when fully rested, physically and mentally.
It’s tempting to believe the only way to stay in proper mixing shape is to be constantly, actively working, but the reality of freelance work doesn’t always allow for that. Sometimes it can actually provide a much-needed break, leaving us in even better shape for future endeavors.